How long have you been homebrewing? Basically, on and off since 1993, with a LARGE off-period. Started with wines and I think I remember (he says...after all it was the university years) making about 4 of the cheapest canned malt tin beer kits we could find. It, seriously, was about 50-50 ratio as to what was drinkable and what wasn't. In the end, as university students will say, "it still contained alcohol and did the job." From that point I got scared off homebrewed beer and had moved to Vancouver where it was all in-store winemaking. Back to SK in 2000 and I jumped back into homebrewing wine again. Got the taste back for beer when I tried some Paddockwood all-wort kits probably about 4 years ago, and they turned out very drinkable so I began looking into it again. I've been jumping in and out of AG (all-grain) brewing now for about a year and a half to two years. With a few sacks of grain now which force the AG step. But I still consider myself a newbie. "An experienced newbie"
How long have you been an ALES member? I believe I saw a poster on one of the pillars at the Bushwakker advertising a meeting of homebrewers first Wednesday of every month. Knowing that craft beer usually = good beer (I began to enjoy microbrewed beer from some local Vancouver-area brewers), I thought "sounds like something good!" I got up the guts to attend and bring two friends along; that was the May meeting of 2008. Then I showed up with a "grain tea bag" from Paddockwood when an order was misunderstood for a Belgian wit and I had no equipment to brew it with so came looking for people who'd help me brew it up in exchange for product. Thanks, Joel!
What do you enjoy about the hobby? The club? Many hobbies result in a product of some sort being produced, music, art, baking, etc. Homebrewing is, as Mark says, a hobby where you can truly enjoy the results (and by 'enjoy' I mean 'drink'). I like to think I have graduated from where most people start ("to make cheap beer!") to a larger appreciation and focus on making the types of beers I'm interested in making and (hopefully) enjoying. It is truly a wide-open playing field and once you begin to understand what you like and don't like about certain beers and styles, you can really begin to tailor toward your own tastes. And, yes, keep in mind that not everyone likes ultra-hoppy IPAs or Belgians so it is always good to have some more "middle of the road" / "easy-drinking" beers to keep your friends and family happy. Attending a year and a half of ALES meetings, taking BJCP classes and doing much tasting of different samples has certainly expanded the knowledge and interest. As for the club, I've found them to be a bunch of conceited, snobbish, ----NOT! The club is a great bunch of very supportive brewers and 'tasters' with varied and valuable interests/tastes/techniques and input. Everytime I watch or brew with someone else, I pick up something new. And, man...that year-end BBQ!
How much/often do you brew in a year? It really varies. I'm trying to be on more of a schedule now (simply because my spare time is quite limited) and hopefully can get to once a month / once every six weeks and do two different beers per brewday. I've partnered up with my longtime friend, Geoff, and new friend Evan and we have made three batches together with many more planned.
What is your favourite style(s) to brew and drink? Why? I can't say I have a favourite style to brew, per se, because it is pretty much the same process (again I'm showing my limited experience). But since brewing leads to drinking, my favourite style has to be grapefruit/pine-hoppy IPA, Belgian wit, Belgian strong. I'm very much a hophead (it wasn't long ago--before my first ALES meeting--that I didn't know THAT is the taste and aroma I like so much) and love the banana/clove/plum/raisin goodness of many Belgians. My familiarity with the many styles has certainly been growing and if you ever see me rapidly tapping away on my phone, I'm not texting; I'm entering tasting notes. Not long ago I didn't know what a doppelbock was, now I quite like them!
Is there a particular beer that you are most proud of brewing? Yep--I have to say my very first all-grain which was November 1, 2008. I remember it was 20C outside that day so made for an enjoyable brew day. Hefeweizen. That's when I realized (again, thanks Joel) that "that's all there is to it, huh? Wow!" I got a few inquisitive looks from my neighbours as they saw two guys huddling around a big propane burner with a bubbling big old beer keg on top. In competition, I think I got a top mark of a 30 which was nice to see that others liked it as well. Hopefully I'll also be proud of the Samichlaus we have on the go but can't give you an answer until December!
What is the craziest beer you brewed? How did it turn out? For me, so far, 'crazy' = dry hopping a BrewHouse pilsner kit with citrusy American hops. I loved it! But I feel compelled to relate the story of "TWFBIET" here. Lately my beers have been suffering from off-flavours and I'm trying to figure out how to get back on track. This particular beer was a return to a canned liquid malt extract kit because it was on sale (mistake 1). I tossed out the stock dry yeast and figured I'd use a Wyeast liquid lager yeast. This was my first attempt at a lager (at this point knowing the difference between ales and lagers and fermentation temps) so I smacked the pack (which was about 6 months old), let it sit for about 8 hours and didn't show much activity so pitched it anyway (mistake 2). Days passed with no active fermentation noticed at my 16C basement temperature so, having to go away for 5 days I asked around and realized lagers might not show activity like I was used to seeing with ale fermentation. I found another of the same yeast in town so smacked it and hours later had a fully-puffed pack so pitched it. Came back to find fermentation activity. Then it wouldn't clear when it was finished so taking Mark's suggestion of putting it in my garage (it was spring with weather swinging in temperatures still below zero) but make sure I used vodka in my airlock. The only vodka I had at the time was lime-flavoured but didn't see a problem as it was only going to sit in the airlock. Then as I poured, I DID see the problem...running straight down into the beer because of a cracked airlock (mistake 3). In the end, brought the beer to a club meeting for comments and I have to agree with one particular member who I overheard call it "The Worst F.. Beer I've Ever Tasted!" Cursed from the beginning, the beer truly did live up to the label. And again, thanks for the comment, you nailed it! No hurt feelings whatsoever!
Can you briefly describe your brewing setup? Currently, when I'm not doing a kit (which I'm still alternating between every so often), my brewing compadres and I are in the process of outfitting ourselves but currently borrow the ALES rig which we hope to model from: converted kegs for boiling, converted cooler for mash and sparge (until we can get a heatable mash tun), plate chiller (thank you to whomever fixed the leaky attachments!), aerate the old fashioned way for now. Myself, I'm a believer and supporter of using glass for fermentation, with full neck-size blowoff tubing. However--given my problems with off flavours lately, I can't say I've had better luck than brewing in plastic. Currently bottle conditioning but getting closer to kegging (bottling....shudder...). This summer is my goal for having a temp-controllable fermentation and lagering chamber setup.
What would be your desert island beer? Hmm. I have a tough time picking favourites of anything. Desert island, huh? Hmm. Tropical? I'd have to worry about keeping the beer at proper drinking temperatures as I wither away and grow a ZZ Top beard, perhaps I'd maybe want something cool and light to swig back to quench thirst. Hmm. I could dig down into the sand in the shade of a palm tree for awhile and keep a beer there. Only one bottle? I'd want it to last but you never know how long you'd be there so might want to drink it all at once and go out happy. I could easily say: I'd be happy with any bottle that I saw washed up on shore. Ideally, I'd want my own personal Dharma Initiative to have been stocked with Green Flash West Coast IPA. But hoppy beers don't age well so a nice Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer would fit the bill. Or, more fittingly, hopefully I'm marooned close to Hawaii: Aloha Plenty (grin).
What else do you do when you aren’t brewing (or drinking) beer? I stare at a computer all day every day like a good number of people, however I use mine to create sounds for-and put together the sound mixes for-television shows and movies. Every day has its challenges in terms of making things seem smooth and un-noticeable for the audiences because it is a heck of a lot of work--sometimes even creative! Start to finish from all the movements of the actors and everything they touch or handle, to balancing out and reducing noise on their dialogue, to the sound of your refrigerator cycle or furnace kicking in, to the sounds and people making up a bar or restaurant scene, to gunfights and ghosts, and mixing the often up to 60-100 tracks together, that's my gig. In the off hours, I used to be a musician (guitar/vocals) and still have the listening interests, however right now my other main hobby is photography. But when I'm not working on shows, I can often be found plopped on my couch watching one or at the theatre. "Research."
